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Amazon Moving Forward on Accommack Solar Farm

An enormous solar energy farm on the Eastern Shore could be the catalyst that jump-starts Virginia’s clean energy industry, Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Monday.

The project to be built for Amazon Web Services in Accomack County will span 900 acres and use 250,000 solar panels, enough to quadruple the state’s solar footprint when it is completed next year. The 80-megawatt facility would generate enough electricity to power 15,000 homes.

“We are now in the game. We weren’t in the past even suited up. We didn’t even have our uniform on,” McAuliffe said during a Monday morning plane ride from Richmond to Accomack, where he signed the permit allowing the Amazon solar farm to move forward. “I think we’re sending the signal that Virginia is open and welcoming to renewables and this is a good place to do business.”